42

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you?"

Ryan turned to me after shutting the trunk of his car. "I'm positive."

I tilted my head. "You don't have to go back to school, you know. You could stay here forever with me."

He laughed softly. "Says the girl who already graduated."

I stepped closer. "I could do all your work for you, you know."

He shook his head. "I need to do this. It's been three months since..." He sighed. "I just need a little normal."

"Yeah, well, I warned you not to come home with me."

He nodded, "You always know best. I should've listened."

I smiled. "Well, now you know."

He stared at me for a few minutes. "Will you be okay?"

I didn't nod or shake my head. I didn't want to answer. "I'll let you know."

He stepped closer and hugged me. "I'll see you at the wedding."

I hugged him tighter. "Only nine months."

"It'll fly by." He pulled back. He moved his hand to the side of my face. He leaned forward and kissed my forehead gently. He pulled back and smiled. "I love you."

I smiled, "I love you too."

He walked to the driver's seat, and I took a few steps back. I stood there and watched him drive away. I didn't cry. I haven't cried for two months. Not since he left. I've made myself go numb so I don't have to feel that he's not here.

I turned and walked back into the empty house. I spent the rest of the day watching TV until it was time to sleep.

My ringing phone on my nightstand pulled me out of my sleep. I reached for it and held it against the side of my face after answering it.

"You woke me up."

"Caroline's having the babies, and she needs you."

I hurried out of bed. "She's not due for another month." I pulled on my jeans before rushing down the steps. "What happened?"

"The babies. They're siphoning the magic out of her. Valerie and Bonnie have to cut them out."

I didn't bother locking the front door. "Are you at the hospital?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Have they started?"

"Yeah, they had to put her under anesthesia," Stefan sighed. "She wanted to wait for you, but they're killing her."

I drove as fast as I could. "She'll be okay. Bonnie will not let her die. Have you called Jo and Ric?"

"Yeah. They're on their way."

I could hear the worry in his voice. "Stefan, take a deep breath, okay? Caroline won't leave you. She wouldn't do that to you."

"Right." He didn't talk for a minute.

"I'm hanging up now. I'll be there in a minute."

"Okay."

I hung up and put my phone in the cupholder. I drove the rest of the way and then grabbed my phone as I got out. I walked into the hospital, making my way to the elevator.

...

"Are you coming?"

I looked up from the book on my lap. I stared at Caroline's red dress for a minute, then looked at her face. "No." It's been four months since she had the babies, and she looks better than she did before she was pregnant.

"Are you sure? It's the babies' first New Year's."

I shook my head, "I'm just really tired."

She looked at the door after someone knocked. "Come in." She looked at me. "You've barely gone out."

I glanced at Stefan as he walked in. I looked at Caroline. "I'm fine. You're going to be late, though."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

I nodded. "Bye."

Stefan waved before they walked out. I returned my attention back to my book, but I couldn't focus on it. The only thing I could think of was a New Year's kiss, or rather who I wanted one from. He hasn't texted or called, and no one's heard from him. It makes me wonder if he's even alive or not. He wouldn't die on me, though.

On the upside, I haven't heard from Joshua or Lillian either. I haven't even seen them, which is very refreshing. But it also makes me a little paranoid about when they might show up. Being on edge is one of the worst things about this situation.

The absolute worst, though, is loneliness.

The house phone started ringing. I got up and walked over to answer it. It was an unknown number.

"Hello?"

There was silence for a moment. "Baby."

I felt my heart skip hearing his voice. "Kai."

"Hi," he laughed softly.

"You're not supposed to be talking to me."

"I just needed to hear your voice."

Tears filled my eyes. "Okay." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Not because you're dying, right?"

He laughed again, making the tears spill from my eyes. "No."

"Good." I wiped the tears off my face. "I'd be really pissed at you."

"So nothing's changed?"

I laughed as I walked to the couch. "Mhm." I sat down. "Actually, Caroline had the babies and Ryan left."

"Caroline's okay?"

"Yeah. She, um, she went a little crazy for a few weeks, but she's okay."

He was quiet for a minute. "And you're okay?"

"Yeah, I just," I wiped the tears off my cheeks again. "I really miss you."

"I know." He breathed out shakily. "I miss you too."

I crossed my other arm over my stomach. Neither of us spoke for a few minutes. I looked at the time on my phone. "Happy New Year."

He didn't answer for a minute. "Happy New Year."

"I would kiss you, but I'm not kissing a phone."

He laughed. "We'll just have to make up for it when we see each other again."

"Yeah," I answered. I wondered when that would be.

"I love you, Evelyn."

I took a deep breath. "I love you."

...

I glanced over at my phone every few seconds, waiting for it to light up. Kai's call four months ago has set me on edge. I expected him to call, but he hasn't. Joshua and Lillian haven't reached out at all.

"Hey."

I looked over at Caroline. "Hey.."

She walked a few steps closer. "Why are you camping out here? You should be out."

I glanced down at the open book in front of me on the table. "I'm researching."

"You have been for two months."

"And? I'm being thorough."

She pushed the book shut. "You're being a hermit. Go out."

I tilted my head, "Going out is dangerous. Joshua is still out there."

"Yes. So go find him and kill him. You can do that now."

I mentioned once that there was blood in my mouth after Kai kissed me. Liv told me it wouldn't have just been normal vampire blood because Kai wouldn't have expected me to die that day. She checked me and found out that the blood was spelled. If I die at any point in time, I'll just come back as a vampire. But not just a vampire, a heretic. I didn't question the witch part because my brain started to hurt, I just went with it.

"I can't kill him. He will kill me. I haven't died, which means I haven't turned."

She sighed. "Can you just go out?"

"Why? So you can have sex with Stefan?"

She rolled her eyes. "Evelyn, you're becoming a hermit."

"I am not."

She tilted her head. "You only go out to pick up food."

I started to argue, but I didn't have an argument. My phone started ringing. I looked down to see Matt's name. I answered the call. "Hey."

"Hey, are you busy?" He spoke slowly.

I glanced at the table. "No. What's up?" I got up and started out of the room.

"Well, Ty and I, we're at the Grill, and some people walked in asking for you."

I pulled on my shoes. I laughed. "Why are you talking like that?" I grabbed my keys and walked out.

"Just... get here as soon as possible. Okay?" There were whispers in the background. "Alone," he said finally.

Before I could say anything else, he hung up. I put my phone in the cupholder and drove faster. I parked and sat there for a few minutes. There were blinds covering the windows. There was a closed sign on the door.

A knock on my window startled me. I looked over to see Damon. He had blood on his face. I opened my door and got out. Elena and Stefan were standing a few feet away.

"What the hell is going on?"

They were all wearing serious expressions on their faces. There was blood on each of them.

"Lillian's inside with a few of her heretics," Damon answered. "They're going to keep killing people until they get you."

I shook my head. "Why do they want me?"

"To talk," Elena answered.

I looked at the Grill. "Of course." I looked at them again.

"They have Tyler and Matt, and they won't let them go unless you're inside," Stefan added.

I looked at him. "What would Caroline say if she knew you were sending her sister into a death trap?"

"It's not a death trap because you're not dying," Damon retorted.

I looked at him. "It sure as hell feels like it."

"We'll be out here the whole time," Elena assured me.

I looked at her, "Don't waste your time." I looked at the three of them. "I'll be fine. Just make sure Matt and Tyler don't die." I walked toward the Grill. I pulled open the door and walked in.

There was no light from outside getting in. I turned toward the dining area to see Matt and Tyler tied back to back on chairs. There were no heretics around. I walked over, kneeling in front of Matt. I untied the ropes around his feet before standing back up. They were both unconscious.

I slapped Matt's cheek, and he lifted his head as he slowly opened his eyes. "Evelyn... you have to run." I untied his wrists from the chair and pulled him to his feet.

"I'll be okay." I helped him to the door. I walked over to Tyler and helped him to the door. I walked back to the chairs. I looked around. "You could've just called, you know? You don't always have to use my friends as bait."

Lillian walked out of the darkness of the hallway. "You wouldn't have come."

"You don't know that."

She nodded once. She stopped a few feet from me. "This way was more effective."

"Or you're just a coward and can't face your failure. You tortured me for weeks and got nothing out of it."

She smiled. "I will get what I want. You, however, will never be happy. Not with Kai gone."

Hearing her say his name felt like I was ordered to snap her neck. "Why am I here?"

"Feeling existential, are we?"

I rolled my eyes. "Answer the question, or I'll leave."

"You're not getting out of her, especially not alive."

I tilted my head. "Oh, no. Whatever will I do?"

"Do you think now is the time for jokes?"

"You tell me you're the one who's supposedly killing me. And while you're at it, you can tell me what I'm doing here."

She gestured to the chair Matt was sitting in. I sat down with a sigh. She took a step closer. "Are you keeping up with celestial events, Evelyn?"

"No."

"Well, as a witch, I have to. And tomorrow, I'm expecting some planets to align. I won't bore you with the details. Do you remember me mentioning a ritual to you?"

"Of course not. Why would I remember the reason I was kidnapped and tortured for an entire month?"

"I never gave you the details of the spell."

"You don't need to because it's not happening."

She smiled, "You sound so sure of yourself."

Fear started to rise in my throat. "Is that all, or can I go?"

She tilted her head. "It only takes a small amount of celestial power for a spell like this to work. This alignment works perfectly for us. During the spell, we will harvest the energy of the alignment and pour it into you. You are our beacon for the dead."

"Which means?"

"You will die. The spirits will find your spirit and pass through your body to come back to this world. In this case, there are 200 spirits."

I stared at her. "Why me?"

She didn't answer for a moment. "It takes a pure human to be a beacon. One that's not corrupted by magic or the supernatural."

I furrowed my brows. "What if I drank blood from a vampire?"

"But you won't."

I shook my head, "What would happen if I did?"

She hesitated. "You would have the power of the celestial event, making you more powerful than a witch. It would destroy anyone who was involved in the spell."

I was tempted to say something, but she would just kill me and find someone else. This way, she will finally be dead. "Who's involved in the spell?"

"If you're asking about Joshua, then yes. He'll be there. He holds the most power in this ritual."

For the first time in a long time, I felt relief. This will all be over. I felt something hit me hard in the back of my head, and everything went dark.

...

I blinked my eyes open slowly. My head was pounding. I lifted my head and looked around to see trees. Once I was less disoriented, I realized we were at the quarry.

Why is it always here?

I felt someone pull me to my feet. I looked at their faces, but it was cloaked by a dark hood. He turned me to face forward as he escorted me to the open space. Joshua and Lillian lowered their hoods so that I could see their faces. My hands were tied behind my back.

I could feel dried blood on my face just under my nose and a few inches from my hairline.

"Hello, Evelyn," Joshua chimed.

I rolled my eyes. "Just get it over with."

"You don't seem very upset," Lillian proclaimed. "You're dying."

"I'm not crying for you." I looked at her. "That's just embarrassing."

They glanced at each other. "We should start," Joshua stated.

Lillian nodded. The cloaked person behind me kept holding me firmly. I watched as Lillian and I were encircled by more cloaked people who started chanting. Lillian walked closer, leaving a few feet of space between us. The taste of blood came up my throat, filling my mouth. I felt dizzy. My vision doubled. I blinked a few times to get it back to normal. I focused on Lillian.

She looked around, confused. The people started slowly dropping one by one. I couldn't stop the laugh that escaped my mouth and the few more that followed.

She turned to me. "What happened?" I couldn't help but laugh. She grabbed my face and forced me to look at her. "What did you do?!"

"Before you two forced Kai to leave, he wanted to make sure I was safe from whatever you would do to me. He didn't just give me his blood. He cursed it first."

She gasped. "You..."

"Karma's a bitch."

The person holding me released me as they dropped dead. Lillian let go of me. She started to run, but before she could, she started choking on her blood. She dropped to the ground, choking to death on her own blood. She and Joshua were the last to die.

I tried to take a deep breath but there was blood in my throat. I started coughing up the blood. I tried to take a step, but I collapsed. I struggled to get the ties off my hands. Once my hands were free, I pushed myself off the ground. I spit out the blood in my mouth but more kept coming up.

I tried to stand up, but I just fell back down. I couldn't move off of my back. I tried to breathe, but I only choked on my blood.

My throat burned as the blood and air fought for room in my lungs. I fought to keep my eyes open, scared to die alone. Images flashed in front of my eyes each time I closed my eyes.

My mom is cooking breakfast for everyone at the lake house.

Caroline and Stefan are laughing with each other at the pool table.

Ryan is drinking with Damon while they joke about being married.

Kai is staring at me as we dance.

Then he's saying I love you.

I want to say it back, but the words are shoved back by blood.